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OFFICE.

GEORGE B. GAINES, OFy MONT VERNGN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN E.LANDERS, O'F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ONE-HALE` TO EACH.

SPECIEIGTION formin'g part of Letters' Patent No. 233,341, dated October19, 1880.

Application filed Ma'y 28, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may co'ncern' Be it known that'I, GEORGE B. GArNEs, ofMount Vernon, in the county of Posey and State of Indian a, haveinve'nted a new and useful Hominy-Mill, of which the following isu aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in hominy-mills, in which arevolving steam-drying grain -feeder and a series of adjnsta-bledouble-edged hollowground beater-knives projecting through the rimof arevolving wheel operate in conjunction` with a stationary cylinder; andthe objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a stationarycylinder of large diameter with an innerrevolving wheel, the rim ofwhich forms the inner revolving wall of the' statonary cylinder second,to provide the rim of the'inner revolving wheel with a'series ofperforationsorholes zo corresponding to the cross-section oftheadjustable beater-knives, for the. purpose ofholdingthe beater-knivesin position' and of pre- 'venting their turning or 'tw'isting, and thusprevent flour and meal from. passingthrouga between thebeaterknives"and.edges' of the holes; third,fto afford= facilities forthe proper adjustment of the beater-knivesv independent of each' othereither to or from the inner circumference of the stationary cylinder;'fourthf,= to provide the stationary cylinder withr a` smallerstationary cylinder above' having?I a' revolvin g feedin g device'heatedby steam, by means of which thegrain is dried and the temperature'increasedl toa uniform condition' before treatmentfandi the grain Wellst'irred' and' mixed preparatory to being discharged into the annularspace between thestationary cylinder and the riin of the `revolvingwheel; fifth, to provide the stationar-y cylinder witha del ivery-opening, the door of which-'is opje11ed=v and closed automatically forholdingfthegrain inf the `'cylinder while I under treatment, and' fordischarging the hominy or meal when ready for delivery;sixthftoprovidean automatic device' for revolvingthe steam-heati-ng feedingf device andcausing the' grain, when heatedfl to a'uniform degree of``temperaturahto befdepositedf in the beating-cylinderf I- attaintheseobjects by the mechanism'` illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in5o which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the entire machine,with a portion of the side of the stationary cylinder broken away toshow the manner in which the beater-knives project through the rim ofthe inner revolving Wheel intoithe annular space between said revolvingrim and the inner curved side of the stationary cylinder. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the same with the upper part cut away at the line x yof Eig. 1. Fig. 3 is a portion of the rim of the revolvin g wheel,showing the shape of the holes for receiving and holding thebeaterkniyes. Fig. 4 is a side view of one of the beater-knives and itsadjusting screws and nuts; also, the mechanism for attaching it to anarin of the revolving wheel, said arm being partially in section to showIthe mode of adjustin-g' the beater-knife on said arm; and Fig. 5 is anend view of the beater-knife.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

A represents the outer shell of a large cylinder, having annular rimsides B' on each end of a cylinder.

The shell A is mounted upon suitable suprports or legs AI A2, which aresecured to the ifloor or foundation of the cylinder. On one of thequarteri-ng sides of the cylinder A, above the support A', is auopening, K, in which is `;fittedthe curved door K', said door beingJhinged to the shell A at k, and the lower end ;of the door K' isprovided with a side projectling arm, e, the use of which will behereinafter 7 described. 8 5

The upper central portion of the shell A is provided with a slit oraperture, r', which may be straight across the cylinder or diagonal.'Above this slit oraperturer'is secured a small cylinder-shell, L, alsoprovided with a slit cr laperture, r, corresponding to the aperture r'in the shell'A'. In the cylinder L is fitted a revolving drum composedof the heads M M3 and circular sides MIv M2,eaving a space between themIThrough the center of this revolving drum is secured a steam-pipe, N,havinga'series of pegs, p, radiating therefrom; as

shown'in' Eigs. 1 and 2. The upper side of the shell L is provided withan opening and a hopper, L', for introducing the grain into thesteam-drum M M3, as will be hereinafter described.

The revolving wheel inside of the stationary cylinder A is composed ofthe rim O, which is perforated with a. series of holes, G4, Fig. 3, forholding and retaining in position the beaterknives G. The spokes D ofthe wheel (J are wide and thin,and each spoke isprovided with a longslot, D', to receive and hold the bolt d, foradjusting and securing theangular bracket s E and beater-knives G to said spokes.

The outer ends of each spoke are secured to the inner circumference ofthe rim U by bolts b through the flanges a, as shown in Fig. i. Theother end of each spoke D is secured to the hub F, and the hub F ismonnted on the shaft H, which shaft may be the main shaft of an engine,if desired. The shaft H is monnted in boxes J or standards H' H', or inanyother suitable manner, so that the rim U will revolve in the centerof the shell A of the stationary cylinder, and form a revolving innerwall to the annular space B of the outer stationary cylindrical shell A.

The beater'knives are constructed of steel, twelve inches long and sixinches wide, with a cross-section similar to that shown in Fig. 5.Thelongitndinal center of theknires is thick, as at G, and the blade ishollow-ground at each side of the center line, G, forming sharp edges,as shown at G' lz, Figs. 4 and 5. At the rear end of each knifeGissecuredascrew-threaded shank, I, which is provided with two nuts,ff.

The shank I is inserted in a hole formed in the uprightangular partofthe angular bracket E, and made fast by the nutsff, one on each side ofthe bracket E, as shown. The brackets E are also adjustable on thespokes I) by means of the slots 1)' and bolts d, by means of which theangular brackets, with theirbeaterknives, can be drawn toward the hub Fand the knives withdrawn from the holes G4 in the rim O, or moved awayfrom the hub and the knives inserted in the holes C" ot' the rim O, andadjusted in close proximity to the inner wall of the stationary shell A.

The fine adjustments of each knife G may be made by the screw I andnutsff, or the blade of the knife G may be reversed thereby before beinginserted in the holes G4ofthe rim C. The reversing of the knives G andtheir adjustment lengthwise is frequently required, as the edges wearofl or the end of the blade becomes worn.

On the shaft H is secured a miter-wheel, g, which lneshes in gear with acorresponding miter-wheel, g', mounted on the shaft P. The shaft P isalso mouuted in suitable bearings on the post or other support Q, and isprovided with acone-pulley, 0', as shown. Thus the cone -pulley 0' hasthe same number of revolutions as that of the shaft H. Above or at oneside of the cone-pulley O' is another cone-pulley, O, mounted on anothershaft, O,

parallel with the shaft P, and supported in suitable bearings, the twocone-pulleys heing reversed and motion communicated from one to theother by a belt (not shown) for the purpose of increasing or diminishingthe speed of the cone O'.

On one end of the shaft )z is secured a bevelwheel, 10, which works ingear with a larger bevel-wheel, 9, mounted on the perpendicnlar shaftP', by means of which the shaft P' is rotated. The lower end of theshaft P' operates in a step-box or bearing, hz, and is provided with asmall be\'el-wheel, 1, which works in gear with a larger bevel-whcel, 2,mounted on one end of the horizontal shaft P3, said shaft being mountedin suitable bearing-boxes, h h'. The other end of the shaft Pa isprovided with a bevel-wheel, 4, which works in gear with the smallbevel-wheel 3, which is also monnted on a stud or shaft supported insuitable bearings. On the back of the small wheel 3 is secured an arm,m, which radiates from the center of the wheel, and extends severalinches beyond its periphery. This arm as it is revolved by the gearingcomes in contact with the side projecting arm e at the bottom of thedoor K', and forces said door open, and holds it in that position untilthe end ot' the arm m slips past the arm e, when the door K' is closedby the cord n and weight n', the cord n operatin g over a pulley, 5, asshown. The door K' remains closed until the arm m again comes in contactwith the arm e, when the operation of opening and closing the door K' isrepeated. The sbaft P' is supported in suitable bearings, Q' Q2, and theupper end of said shaft is also provided with a small bevelwheel, S,which works iu gear with the bevelwheel 7 on the horizontal shaft P2. Atthe end of the shaft 1)2 nearest the cylinder L is another smallhevet-wheel, 6', (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2,) which works in gearwith the bevel-wheel 6 on the steam-pipe N, by means of which the drum MM M' Mz is revolved in the shell L. The drum M M3 may fit snugly in saidshell L and revolve therein, or the steam-pipe N may he mounted andrevolved in removable boxes or glands 8 8', attached to the ends of thecylindrical shell L, so as to revolve the drum, or the steam-pipe N maybe stationary and the drum made to revolve on it by attaching thebevel-wheel 6 to one head, as at M, instead of to the pipe, the objectbeing to heat the grain in the drum to a uniform temperature, at thesame time stirring it up by revolving thezdrum, aided by the pins p inthe pipe N, before the grain is discharged through the openings 1' r'into the annular space B of the stationary cylinder A.

Having thus described the construction and arrangement of parts, I Willnow describe the' mode of operation of my improved hominymill asfollows, to Wit:

The knives G being adjusted to project across the annular space B of theshell A, and nearly touch the inner circumference of said IOO IIO

shell, thewheel O is set in motion, the outer.

periphery of the rirrrO forming the moving wall to the annular space B,and the knives G are revolved at one hundred or more revolutions perminute in said annular space. Several sets of these beater-knives G arearran ged side by sideT-while 'others are arranged between them, asindicated in Fig. 3. The grain is then fed into the drum M, and hotsteam circulated through the pipe-N in said drum.

The gearing on the main shaft H and shaft P travels, by means of thecone-pulleys O O' and belt, (not shown,) to the shaft O2, and by thegearing 10 9 to shaft P', and by gearing 8 and 7 to shaft P2, and bygearing 6 6' to the steam-pipe N or drum M, thus causing the drum torevolve slowly and stirring the grain therein while the heated steam israising the temperature ofthe corn to a uniform degree before treatment.The corn, when thus heated, is deposited in the annular space B of thestationary cylinder through the holes r r', after which the drum Mcloses the discharge-openings r r', and is again filled with corn to beheated, while the corn in the annular space B is being cut and bruisedby being struck with the revolving knives G and knocked from side toside until converted into the desired grade ot' hominy.

Just before a new charge is introduced into the annular chamber B thearm m of the wheel 3 strikes the arm c on the door and opens it, th uspermitting the hominy to be discharged. As soon as the hominy is removedthrough the aperture K the door K' is closed by the weight n and cordn', and the drum arrives at a point to open the ports 1' r' and permitthe freshly-heated charge to be deposited therein for a similartreatment.

It will be observed that the wheel 3 has a very slow motion, also thedrum M, thus permitting the grainjn the drum to have plenty of time tobecome heated to a uniform temperature; also, to permit the grain toremain in the annular chainber B under action of thebeater-knives'sufficiently long to crack the corn i 2. In a hominy-mill,the combination of the stationary cylinder A, the revolving rim-wheel O,with beater-knives G, the cylinder L, and the revolving steam-heatedfeed-drum M M' M2 M3, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a hominy-mill, the outer stationary cylinder, A, having annularrim sides B', and its periphery, near the bottom, provided with anopening, K, and curved door K', and the upper central part provided witha slit or aperture, r', combined with the revolving rimwheel O, the rimof which fits and moves snugly between the annular sides B', and isprovided with a series of holes, G4, to receive and hold thebcater-knives G, snbstantially as shown and described.

4. In a hominy-mill, the outer stationary cylinder, A, having annularrim sidcs B', and its periphery near the bottom, provided with anaperture or opening, K, in which operates the curved door K', which isprovided with a side projecting arm, c, a rope, n, and Weight n', forclosing it, combined with the wheel 3,having a radial arm, m, w'hichopens the door K' as the wheel 3 revolves, all substantially as shownand described.

5. In a hominy-mill, the revolving rim-wheel O, having a series ofdiamond-shaped perforations, G4, in its rim, and thin flat spokes D,each spoke being provided with an oblong slot, D', combined with theadjustable augular brackets E and adjustable double-edged beater-knivesG, all constructed and arranged to operate in the manner substa-ntiallyas shown and described.

G. In a hominy-mill, the double-edged hollow-ground beater-knife G,having the screwthreaded shank or stud I at one end, provided withnutsff, combined with the adjustable angular bracket E, and the slottedspokcs D, all constructed and arranged to operate in the mannersubstantially as shown and described.

7. In a hominy-mill, the annular space B, between the rim ot' the wheelO and inner wall of the shell A, and sides B', said annular spacebeingof a uniform depth and width, and the joint between the stationarysides B' and edge of the revolving wheel made snug to prevent leakage,combined with the beater-knives G or the revolving rim-wheel O, as andfor the purpose specified.

Intestimony whereof 1 have si gned my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: GEO. B. GAINES.

A. J. OLARK, J As. W. FRENCH.

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IIO

Correction of Letters Patent No. 233,341.

V lt is hereby eei'titied that in Letters l'atent No. 233,341, issuedOctober 19, 1880, upon the applieation ofHe/org'e l. (aines. t'or animprovement in Hominy Mills, the name of the assignee ot' one-hali'interest therein rherever it appears in said Letters l'atent, and at thehead ot' the printed specification formingr apart thereof, waserroneonsi)v written and printed John E. Landers instead of John E.Sanders; that the correct name of said assignee is John E. Sanders; thatthe proper corrections have been made in the files and papers pertainingto the case in the Patent Oflice, and are hereby made in said LettersPatent to make the title therein conforln to the records of the PatentOtiiee.

Signed, onntersig "ned. and sealed this 14th day ot' June, A. D. 1881.

[SEAL] A. BELL,

Actng Secretary of the I nerior. (Yonntersigned E. M. MARBLE.

('omm xsiom'r of I'afen ts.

